Healing
by BlackRoseWolf103
Summary: Daryl has been held prisoner by the saviors for a month, and when he is suddenly let go and left at the gate of Alexandria, he has to recover from his imprisonment and fight back against the saviors.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

Back with another multi chapter. I started this a long time ago and decided to post everything I had started. It will follow Daryl after he gets left at the gates of Alexandria, after being held by the Saviors for a month. Basically the story will show all of the people who help get him back in his right mind, with a lot of help from a surprise character who died way too soon. I will be including my newest ship, slight Caryl, slight Bethyl, slight Meronne, and slight Richonne. Enjoy!

(No POV)

A small truck headed down a pavement dirt road. Night had fallen and it was a cool summer evening. There was a gentle breeze carried through the winds. A man and a women sat in the front of the truck, not saying a word for the entire trip. It wasn't a smooth trip either, the truck went over many bumps along the way, some big enough to lift the passengers from their seats.

The truck skidded to a halt as they reached a tall fence. The woman glanced up. "This it?" She asked.

The man nodded and removed his key from the ignition. He opened the front door and climbed out, slamming it shut behind him. The woman opened her own door and stepped onto the dirt. She stretched before heading towards the back of the truck, where the man already was. He unlocked the door and opened it.

Inside was another man, his skin caked with dirt and dried blood. He was lying on his side, asleep. The man climbed into the truck to lift him up, while the woman helped by grabbing the second man's feet. They carried him out of the truck and set him gently on the ground.

The man then knocked on the fence in front of them a few times, before quickly going back towards the truck. The woman opened the passenger door and climbed in as he started the engine. She glanced back at the man lying on the ground, concern crossing her face.

The man grabbed her hand. "He'll be fine" he told her.

She met eyes with him. "And us?" She asked.

He swallowed nervously. "It was either this or let him die" he told her.

She bit her lip and nodded slowly. She didn't say another word as the truck pulled away from the gate, back in the direction it had come from, east.

At the same time the fence opened to reveal a dark skinned woman. She noticed the man on the ground and immediately called out "Rick!" She opened the gate and grabbed the man by under his arms and dragged him in, just as another man closed the gate behind her.

"He was just lying there" she told him softly. "There was a knock and I opened it and saw him"

"No one else?" He asked.

She shook her head. He rubbed his head in frustration, staring down at the man on the ground. "Rick it's not a trap" she whispered.

Rick glanced up at her. "Why would they just leave him here?" He asked.

"Maybe he escaped" she suggested.

"And passed out right in front of the gate?" He shook his head. "No someone left him" he looked down again, sighing. "He needs a doctor" he decided.

"We can't risk bringing him to Hilltop" she told him. They all remembered too well what happened the last time they had traveled to hilltop. The most horrible night in their entire lives, watching two of their own get smashed by the leader of the saviors.

He nodded. "I know..." He trailed off. He bit his lip, rubbing his head again. His eyes moved over the man, noticing the obvious bruising and cuts on his skin. He looked like he had been through absolute hell, and knowing where he had been for the last month, he probably had been. He felt sympathy and pity for the man he had come to know as a brother.

"Get him some blankets, a pillow, probably some food, water-" he knew he was rambling but he just wanted to see him in a better condition as soon as possible.

She nodded just as another women approached the group "Rick, Michonne!" She called out and then stopped. "Is that?..."

Michonne nodded. The second women looked horrified. "What did they do to him?..."

Michonne gently grabbed her arm. "Rosita, get him something to eat for when he wakes up"

Rosita nodded and went to retrieve what she had asked. Michonne went back towards where she and Rick slept, before remembering that they were both low on blankets and pillows. She sighed remembering who had stolen all of them, probably just to be an ass to Rick.

She headed towards the small storage shed that he had claimed as his and knocked on the door softly. "Merle" she called out in a quiet tone. She sighed again, as she opened the door and stepped inside. She coughed on the thick smoke fumes that filled the air.

She saw him, four pillows behind his head, sitting up, a cigarette in his hand. "Well if I had known it was you I'd've opened the door" he told him in his usual raspy voice, a small smirk on his face.

She stood over him, ignoring his comment. "I'm going to need to take a few of the pillows and a blanket or two" she told him.

He grabbed the blankets and moved them away from her. "Hell nah! Rick ain't gettin' none of this shit!" He argued.

"It's not for Rick..." She muttered slowly.

He looked up at her. "Who's it for?"

She met eyes with him. "Daryl"

A mixture of concern and relief immediately crossed his face. "He's back?" He asked breathlessly. "Where is he? Is he ok? Why didn't ya tell me?!" His voice had become louder at each question, until he was shouting.

"He's asleep" she told him softly. "And we just found him"

Merle stood up "just bring 'im 'ere then" he told her, starting to straighten up the mess of blankets. She smiled slightly, seeing that he was trying to make it perfect for when they finally did bring his brother in. Although at first it really didn't look like it, Merle did actually care about Daryl, probably more than anyone in the group did, except for maybe Rick.

She left the shed and went back to where Rick was, still watching Daryl, who hadn't woken up. "Merle wants him to stay with him" she told Rick.

He nodded. "Ok" he bent down into a squat. "Help me" he lifted the man off the ground with a grunt of effort. Michonne lifted his feet up and they carried him towards the shack where Merle was waiting. They set him down on the makeshift bed of blankets and pillows.

Rick left and as Michonne turned to leave, Merle spoke. "What the hell did they do to 'im?" He asked in a low growl.

She sighed "I don't know but he's going to be ok" she told him.

"Stay" he whispered softly, his eyes not leaving his brother's face.

She nodded and sat down next to him. After a long moment of silence she spoke again. "You alright?"

He shook his head. "Not 'til I know he is..." He rested his hand on Daryl's forehead, feeling that it was burning. They clearly hadn't taken good care of him.

Moments later there was a knock on the door. Michonne stood up to open it to Rosita carrying a plate of food and a glass of water. She set it on the floor by Daryl's head, before standing up again. "Still hasn't woken up?" She asked.

Michonne shook her head and sat back down. "Can you tell me when he does?" Rosita asked.

"Sure" she told her, knowing why she probably wanted to know. Daryl had stood up for Rosita when Negan had been intimidating her, after Abraham's death. He had punched him in the face, which had lead to Glenn getting killed and probably his own capture.

"Thanks" Rosita muttered before walking back out the door.

Michonne glanced back at Merle, who appeared to be cutting a piece of the blanket with his knife. "What are you doing?" She asked. He ignored her, continuing to cut. Once he had a decent sized piece, he poured water on it, and then squeezed it, letting the excess water drip off. He unfolded it and placed it on Daryl's forehead.

A small smile made its way across her face. Merle glanced over at her and turned away, seeming to be embarrassed. "It's a start" he muttered.

The smile stayed on her face, as she watched him move Daryl's bangs away from his eyes. He turned around. "Wha' the hell ya smirking 'bout?" He demanded.

"Nothing" she started, as he turned around. "It's just..."

He whirled around. "Just wha'?"

"It's sweet" she whispered softly. "You care about him"

He turned back towards Daryl "Why wouldn't I? He's my baby brother..." His voice trailed off. "I swear I will kill whoever the fuck did this to 'im" he growled.

"Rick'll come around" Michonne added. "It's just a matter of time"

"Good" he took the damp piece of cloth off Daryl's forehead, and rested his hand on it. "Better" he muttered, pouring more water on it, squeezing it out, and setting it back.

Michonne felt a yawn coming, but did her best to hide it. Merle wanted her there, as much as she wanted to curl up in bed with Rick, she couldn't. Besides Rick was probably not going to sleep until Daryl woke up. She sighed, scooting so that she was sitting up against the wall.

She felt her eyes begin to shut, and forced them open. She needed to stay awake, for Merle, for Daryl, for Rick, should he need her.

She figured someone had probably taken up her guard duty, maybe Rosita, since she was supposed to in an hour anyways, or Rick, since he wasn't going to sleep that night. It didn't matter who, just that she didn't have to feel guilty for abandoning her position for Merle. It didn't help that she would've probably fallen asleep in the guard tower anyways. The day had been a busy one, going on a run with Spencer and Rosita.

They hadn't found anything amazing, but they had found a few guns, except when they showed them to Rick, he told them to leave them outside the gate, per Negan's rule against guns. Of course Michonne had kept one for herself, and so had Rosita.

Michonne sighed, causing Merle to look over at her. "Ya alrigh'?" He asked, his cigarette back in his hand, although he wasn't smoking it.

She nodded. "Just tired"

"I feel ya" he put the cigarette out on his hand, not showing any sign of pain as he did so. He looked up at her again "well I wish I could" he added with a chuckle.

She rested her head in her hands, trying to hide the fact that his dirty ways slightly amused her. Not only that, they reminded her of her old boyfriend. A small smile had started to form on her face. There was a reason she ended up spending so much time with Merle, but to say she enjoyed his company was definitely a huge overstatement, he was annoying as all of hell, but he did make her smile every now and then, which was rare in this world.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note:

Here is chapter two of my fanfic. This time I am switching things up and going to first person point of view, through Daryl's eyes of course. I will be including several flashbacks in this one and going forward. Enjoy!

(Daryl POV)

My whole body ached as I came to, which I was used to by now. I kept my eyes shut, knowing that when I was to open them, it would still be pitch black. And then I felt something. It was soft underneath me, not the cement floor of my cell. And I felt water drip down my face.

I opened my eyes, shocked to see that it wasn't darkness I was met with. I was lying down, in a mess of blankets. I removed something damp on my head, a wet cloth. Although my vision was blurry, I quickly realized that I was not trapped by the saviors anymore, but the room was unfamiliar. This had to be her doing.

I sat up, feeling a sharp pain in my shoulder as I did so, where I had gotten shot, glancing around. I was in what appeared to be a small shed, although bigger than the cell I had been in for God knows how long. I laid back down. I was safe, for now.

Even so, I still felt myself trembling. I had no idea where I was, and if I truly was safe or if it was all just another trick. My ears were ringing with an unfortunately all too familiar tune, almost as if the damn song was still being played, just softer and under a layer of static.

I closed my eyes, and wiped the water from my forehead. I hated feeling so weak that I needed someone to take care of me, but I wasn't going to deny the help, especially in this severe of a condition.

"Get off of me!" I heard a woman shout. I glanced over to my side to see her shoving a man who was leaned up against her, fast asleep. She grabbed a pillow and started hitting him with it, until he shot awake.

"Wha'?" He demanded.

"You fell asleep on me" she told him.

He sat up more. "So I did" he replied with a chuckle. Why did I recognize that voice? "Trust me sweetheart, you were snoozin' waaaay before I was" he chuckled again.

God his voice was so damn annoying, and it didn't help that my ears were still ringing. Was is just me or was he talking really loud? I covered my ears with my hands, the ringing really just getting louder, until it was almost unbearable. I thought I told him to shut up, but it came out as a low groan.

Immediately they both became quiet. The man moved closer to me and I scooted away, a sharp pain spreading up my arm as I did so. I grit my teeth together, resisting the urge to cry out.

"Daryl!" He moved even closer until he was right above me. "Shhhh shhh it's ok little brother". Why was he calling me that? Unless...

"Merle..." I groaned out. My voice didn't even sound normal, there was a rough scratchiness way deeper than it usually was.

"I'm here little brother, you're safe" he wasn't the best at providing any sort of comfort, but it was fine by me. Hell, I didn't need it either.

As my vision cleared, I noticed the the woman he had been fighting with was Michonne. Was I back in Alexandria? And if so, how did I get back? I sat up again. "Where-"

Merle interrupted me. "Home sweet home" he had known what I was asking. "Save ya strength"

I laid back down. "Rick?..."

"He's probably at our place" Michonne spoke up. "I can go get him for you"

Merle shook his head. "Nah, officer friendly can talk to im' later, let im' rest"

I sat up again. "I'm fin-" I stopped as another sharp pain made its way through my shoulder. I heard myself make a small gasp.

I laid down again. Obviously the doctor back at the savior's compound had done a horrible job with the wound, or it wouldn't throb every time I moved, at the least not every time I breathed.

"Just go to sleep little brother" Merle muttered, after Michonne left. "I'm right 'ere and I ain't gonna let nothin' hurt ya"

Reluctantly, I closed my eyes, and let sleep take me, which was easier that I thought it would've been. I hadn't realized how exhausted I was.

 _A loud click and distant yelling woke me up. I watched a small group of saviors through the back window of the truck, ready to bolt the second they opened the door. Among the saviors, I recognized Dwight, but none of the others. My eyes went to the hideous burn covering half of his face. He hadn't had that when I had first met him. Did the saviors do that?_

 _My pulse quickened as I began to think about what these people would do to me. Hell I had just witnessed two of my friends smashed to death by a baseball bat. I couldn't and didn't want to even imagine what they had in store for me._

 _I crouched down, as I noticed that two of the saviors were moving towards me. They opened the back door and just as I was about to jump down and run I noticed the arrow aimed at my face._

 _"Don't even think about it Daryl" I recognized Dwight's voice as he had my bow pointed directly at me._

 _I glared at him as one of the other saviors grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the truck and onto the gravel covered road. Not being able to keep my footing, I fell hard to the ground, feeling the breath get knocked from my lungs._

 _"Get up" I heard Dwight order, which was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment. After another second of lying in the dirt, I was forced up by two of the saviors. I struggled to free myself from their grip, landing a punch on one of their faces. This earned me a rough kick that knocked me to the ground._

 _They pulled me up from the ground and immediately pulled my arms behind my back. I panicked feeling my breaths quicken as I continued to fight._

 _I came face to face with Dwight. "You really want to do this?" He asked. "Because I'm sure Negan would have no problem going back home and killing everyone there"_

 _I met eyes with him, trying to look at him with as much hatred as I could muster. He simply sighed. "You already got one of your friends killed" he started. "Imagine if you caused all of them to die"_

 _This stopped me almost instantly. I let myself go limp and my head down. The two saviors grabbing on to my arms started moving towards the huge compound. Immediately I noticed the fences all around us. There was no way in hell escaping was going to be easy._

 _I was walked across the compound and up a small set of stairs. Dwight opened the door. Immediately a musty smell hit my nose. The inside of this place was dark and uninviting, with cement walls and floors. "I'll take him from here" I heard Dwight tell the other saviors._

 _I felt my arms get released but looked up to see the bow in my face again. "Walk" He ordered in a firm voice. I let out a sigh of defeat as I started walking in the direction he wanted me to go._

 _As we walked past a few small rooms, he suddenly shoved me into one of them. Although once inside I quickly realized that it wasn't a room at all, it was far too small to be considered a room. Not only that it but it was freezing._

 _Dwight sighed, staying in the doorway. "Take them off" he ordered._

 _"Wha'?" I asked in a deep voice._

 _He took a deep breath. "Your clothes" he explained. "Take them off" he repeated._

 _He had to be joking, right? There was no way in hell I was going to get naked in front of him. I glared back at him, shaking my head._

 _He lunged towards me and grabbed me by the hair. "Listen asshole" he started. "You do as I say or everyone dies" he hissed before releasing me._

 _With shaking hands I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and began to pull it over my head. I tried to forget what I was doing as I proceeded to remove the rest of my clothes. I felt myself tremble as the cold hit my skin. I threw my clothes at Dwight and then just stood there, taking deep breaths, feeling my fingers curl into fists. I was still ready to fight my way out of this._

T _hey fell a few feet short of him, and he bent down to pick them up. He sighed as he put the strap of my bow over his shoulder and shut the door. And then it was pitch black. Not only that, it was quiet, but it wasn't going to be for long._

 _After a few soft clicks outside, I jumped as loud music poured into the room. It was the most annoying song I had ever heard, and it was playing at a volume that I could feel my ears start to pound. I made my way over to the door, feeling around for the door knob. As I found it, I pulled on it, not even a little surprised when it didn't budge._

 _I bent down and ran my fingers along the small crack between the wall and the door, pushing hard trying to get it to shift out of place just enough where it would unlock. When that didn't work, I got down on my knees and reached under the door, although I couldn't fit my fingers through the small gap between it and the floor._

 _I sat back against the wall in defeat. The floor was freezing against my bare skin, and I felt myself tremble. I pulled my legs in closer to my chest, and closed my eyes, letting my head fall against my knees. Eventually I drifted off into sleep._

I blinked my eyes open, still not used to seeing light when I woke up. Merle was sat up leaning against the wall, although his eyes were closed and he was snoring loudly.

I attempted to sit up once again, causing a jolt of pain running through my shoulder and across my upper back. I used my hand to push myself up, gritting my teeth together. I felt my arm shake as if I couldn't even support my own weight on it. With another grunt of effort, I managed to get to a seated position, using the pillows as support behind me.

The blanket fell off my chest and I noticed I was still wearing the same sweats I had been forced to wear back at the sanctuary. Glancing around, I saw a small pile of clothes next to Merle. I leaned over to grab them, ignoring the obvious pain that came with the action. I was just eager to get out these.

I set them, next to me, and proceeded to remove my shirt with shaking fingers. Normally I would never even chance that someone could see the scars that littered my back, but at this point, I'd prefer that then the hideous, sweat soaked and blood stained prisoner clothes that I had probably been wearing for weeks. I tossed the shirt as far away from me as possible as I finished taking it off.

Immediately, I grabbed the tattered dark shirt off the floors and pulled it over my head. Damn it had never felt so good just to be wearing clean clothes.

Although it was more difficult, I managed to take the pants of and put a pair of ripped black jeans on. I threw the sweat pants, having them land right next to the sweater. I wanted to see both of them burnt. I laid back down, closing my eyes although not going to sleep, as I waited for Merle to wake up.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note:

This chapter will include a dream sequence with some beloved characters who were gone too soon. As always, enjoy

(Daryl POV)

 _"Last chance" I heard a familiar voice warn. "Wake up"_

 _And then it was cold. I yelped and my head shot up as freezing water dripped down my skin. I saw Dwight standing there with a smirk on his face and an empty bucket in his hand. I attempted to glare at him as my entire body shook._

 _"I did warn you" he stated with another sigh._

 _"W-wha d'ya want?" I growled, trying to stop my voice from shaking due to the cold. I pulled my arms tight around my legs, the only thing that was beginning to warm me up._

 _"Eat up" his foot kicked a plate with a small sandwich on it, causing the sandwich to fall on the ground._

 _It was nice to know that they weren't going to starve me. I reached for the sandwich, picking it up off the floor. I brought it towards my mouth and took a bite._

 _Another smirk crossed Dwight's face as I tasted it. I don't what I was expecting but certainly not that. I had eaten some pretty nasty things when I needed to, but this was just different. There was absolutely no flavor, whatsoever, it was just mush in between two stale pieces of bread._

 _"Well?"_

 _I struggled to swallow it, feeling myself suppress a gag. "It's fine" I muttered as I finally swallowed the damn thing. I set the rest of the sandwich back on the plate and pushed it away from me. I knew I should've been trying to keep my strength up, but I also knew I couldn't stomach any more of that sandwich._

 _I watched as Dwight suppressed a laugh. "What's wrong you don't like it?"_

 _"It's fine" I repeated, staring at the ground. I felt water dripping from my bangs and landing on my legs. It certainly didn't help the fact that I was cold. I felt my entire body shaking violently._

 _"Well it's dog food" he told me "Negan thought that would be fitting"_

 _Just hearing his name made my fingers curl into fists. The bastard had complete control over my entire group because he had numbers and had killed one of our own, the other being my fault but he had done the deed. "Negan..." I growled out under my breath._

 _"What was that?" He asked mockingly, putting his hand to his ear, he had obviously heard me._

 _"Nothin'..." I muttered. I wasn't stupid enough to show him just how much I hated his leader. I knew it wouldn't end well for me._

 _"Good" he hesitated a second before shaking his head and walking out. He stopped at the door, his back to me. "This won't last long" he muttered. "If you're smart that is"_

 _"Wha' d'ya mean?" I asked._

 _He sighed. "If you become like me"_

 _He meant if I abandoned my group and became a servant to Negan. "Never" I growled out._

 _"We'll see Daryl, we'll see" he left the room and started to close the door. Just as there was a small sliver of light left he spoke one more time. "For your sake I hope you're wrong"_

 _And then it was dark again. I kicked against the door, hard, not surprised that it didn't move. There was no way that I was going to ever bow down to Negan, ever! But that seemed to be their overall goal with me. Sure it would get me out of this cell, but it wasn't worth it, at least not at this point it wasn't. But I doubted that would ever change._

 _The silence was suddenly broken as loud music poured into the cell. Not only was it the volume that bothered me, the song was so cheery that it made me want to throw up. Was this really their way of breaking me? Playing cheesy ass music and feeding me dog food? I doubted that it would ever work. I'd never been more wrong in my entire life._

"Daryl" I opened my eyes to Merle sitting over me. "Sleepin' again Darylina?" He asked with a soft chuckle.

I sighed as he used the stupid nickname that he used whenever I was acting like a girl. "I wasn't asleep" I muttered.

"Sure ya wasn't" he chuckled. He had a bottle in his hand and I was wondering where the hell he had gotten it.

I ignored him, glancing around the room. That's when I noticed we weren't alone. "Wha' she doin' 'ere?" I muttered. Damn I was not in the mood to be receiving any sort of sympathy from anyone, but of course my brother wouldn't listen.

"I wanted to talk to you" Rosita started. "About that night..." She trailed off.

I looked down to avoid her eyes. I knew exactly what she was talking about and I sure as hell did not want to talk to her about it. But if there was one thing this woman had it was persistence. I sighed and nodded slowly, then looked up to Merle. "Can ya leave?" I asked him softly.

"Fine" he grumbled before pushing himself up. He headed over to the door, before taking one final glance at me over his shoulder.

"Go" I commanded in a soft voice.

Rosita's eyes stayed on him until he was out the door and it was closed behind him. She then turned to me. "I just wanted to say thank you"

"For wha'? Getting Glenn killed?" I asked sarcastically. I knew exactly what she was talking about, but the end result of my actions, no matter what my intentions were, was the death of a friend.

"Don't do that" she muttered.

"Do wha'?" I asked.

She sighed. "What you just did. Daryl it's not your fault"

How the fuck was it not? Was she really that stupid, or was she just saying that because she didn't want me to feel guilty about the whole incident. "Like hell it ain't" I found myself tapping my fingers on the ground, a nervous habit.

"It's not!" She argued. "What you did, that was brave. How could you have possibly have known what would happen"

I felt my breathing become harsh and quick. She was wrong! He fucking warned us! After Glenn freaked out over Maggie he had told none of us to try anything like that again. I had been stupid and reckless. But I had thought that by jumping up, I was signing up for death by the maniac. I had never imagined that he would kill someone else instead.

"Daryl..." Rosita called out softly. I had been silent for too long, but I could feel an outburst coming. "Daryl..." I felt her hand rest on my shoulder and I lost it.

I whirled around, jumping to my feet. "Wha' I did was selfish, stupid, and reckless!" I shouted back at her.

She looked slightly taken aback but soon started shouting back. "Selfish?!" She asked in disbelief. "You stood up for me, damn it! Tell me how you think that is selfish?"

"I shouldn'ta done it!" I yelled back. Why had I done it? I really didn't know. It was like all the hatred for Negan and the saviors had been building up that whole night, and then suddenly he had been right there. He had been yelling at Rosita, someone who I considered to be a friend, I just couldn't hold it back anymore. What may have seemed extremely brave in the eyes of some, was in reality one of the stupidest things I had ever done, but I really did think he'd kill me. I was wrong, dead wrong.

"Daryl, you might've saved my life!" She yelled back. Might he have hit her if I hadn't done what I did? Maybe, but that wasn't what I had been thinking.

"And sacrificed Glenn's?!" I could hear my voice crack, a usual sign that I was upset. And I absolutely was upset. "How am I supposed to look Maggie in the face ever again?!" I shouted back.

"She forgives you!" She shouted back. "She doesn't even have to because she doesn't blame you! She never has!"

All of a sudden my vision grew blurry and my head felt light headed. I took a step back, faintly hearing Rosita shouting my name, before I lost my balance. Everything went black.

"Daryl!" I heard someone yelling my name, but it sounded distorted. Then there were two voices, one male, one female. I opened my eyes, my breath catching in my throat as I recognized where I was. I was back in my cell. Something was different this time. I looked down to see that I was wearing normal clothes, and there was a strange aura of light.

"Daryl!" I turned to see the cell had widened out in all directions. The walls had vanished and there was just a vast area of nothing but the floor and that light. I looked over my shoulder to see a second light that was almost blinding. I shielded my eyes with my hand, trying to look past the light, but I couldn't see anything. I turned away from it, feeling my eyes start to burn.

"Daryl!" There it was again. "Daryl!" First the male then the female back and forth over and over again. As I spun around again, I could see the silhouette of two people standing in front of the light. No they were moving, running towards me.

"Daryl!" I heard right next to my ear, and then I was pulled into a tight hug. "Daryl" she repeated softly.

"You found him?" The other voice asked as he ran over to where we were. As he got closer, I recognized him instantly, Glenn.

The girl let go of me and took a step back. The moment I saw those green eyes I knew who it was. "Beth..."

She smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes. "Yep, it's me"

"What's goin' on?" I asked softly. And then realization hit. "Am I dead?"

"No" Glenn spoke this time.

"I-" Beth started. "We wanted to talk to you" she corrected herself.

I nodded, not looking Glenn in the eyes. I could understand Beth being here, but why him? Didn't he know I was the one who killed him?

"It's not your fault" Glenn suddenly blurted out. "It's not"

I remained silent, slightly shocked that he would say that. He was wrong. They were all wrong.

"Daryl" Beth called out. I looked up. "He's right you know"

I shook my head. "Nah he ain't" I muttered.

"Yes I am" Glenn repeated. "It's not your fault that I'm dead"

"How ain't it?" I asked. "That bastard warned us!"

"You didn't know!" Beth assured. "And even if you did, you thought he was going to kill you, right?"

I nodded slowly. "But he didn't"

"And that's not your fault" Glenn added. "You need to understand that"

"I don't need to understand nothin'" I looked back at the ground.

Beth sighed. "Daryl stop doing this to yourself" I met eyes with her. "It'll kill you."

She was right, I knew she was. Hell I had almost gotten myself killed going after Dwight after Denise's death, because I had once again blamed myself for not killing him in the burnt forest.

"I ain't gonna lie to myself" I told her softly.

"You're not" Glenn assured.

I turned towards him. "How ain't I?"

I felt Beth pull me into another hug. "It's not your fault, Daryl" her head was rested on my shoulder. "listen to me." She pulled away and I looked into her eyes. "it's not your fault"

I found myself nodding slowly, although I didn't believe either of them. I just couldn't see how it even possibly wasn't my fault. I had decided to get out of line. I had decided to punch Negan. It had been me, no one else. I deserved to take the blame, just like I had deserved everything back at the Sanctuary. It didn't matter what anyone said, none of that would ever change.

Beth smiled, probably assuming that she had me convinced. She should've known better. She then moved my hair away from my eyes with her fingers. "You okay?" She whispered softly.

I nodded although I wasn't sure what the real answer was. "Fine".

She wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "you are so brave Daryl Dixon" she whispered softly.

What the hell was she talking about? Brave? I was scared shitless. "Nah I ain't"

She pulled away. "Yes you are" she paused. "After what they did to you, you still didn't give in"

I shuddered remembering the time I had spent at the Sanctuary. It had been actual hell. "I couldn't..." I muttered. It didn't matter how many times Negan had threatened to kill me, had the other saviors beat me, or several times, starve me. I wasn't going to ever bow down to him. I looked over at Glenn "ya wouldn't..."

I watched his expression soften even more than normal. He didn't need to say anything for me to know what he was thinking. "I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to be" Glenn told me softly. He reached for my hand and gave it a firm squeeze. "Take care of Maggie for me"

Beth rested her hand on my shoulder and stood up on her tippy toes and planted a light kiss on my cheek, which made my skin warm up. "Goodbye Mr. Dixon" she whispered.

"Ya leavin' already?" I asked softly. I didn't want her to leave. I missed her so damn much.

"We have to" Glenn replied. I suddenly felt slightly embarrassed. No one else knew just how much I cared about Maggie's younger sister, but Glenn didn't seem at all surprised. Maybe he already knew.

Beth flashed me one more smile, before walking away from me and towards Glenn. "Is he gonna be ok?" I heard her ask him softly.

I didn't hear his response, as I opened my eyes to Merle hovering over me, concern clearly across his face.

"Ya awake Daryl?" He asked softly.

I tried to sit up, but he pushed me down. "Don' even think 'bout it, ya need to rest"

"I'm fine" I protested, trying to sit up again.

"Daryl you passed out" I heard Rosita explain. Why was she still here?

"I'm fine" I repeated, pushing Merle's hand off my chest.

"Ya ain't" Merle decided. He shoved me down, hard. A jolt of pain ran through my shoulder at the impact as I hit the ground. Of course the second he saw the pained look on my face, his eyes softened. "I didn' hurt ya, did I?" He asked softly.

Of course he had. It had hurt like a bitch. But I wasn't going to tell him that. "Nah, I'm fine"

He smiled slightly but didn't look convinced. Guess he knew better than that. I sighed turning away from him and towards Rosita. Why had I passed out? Was it just a matter of that I was still so weak from being held prisoner?

I felt my stomach growl. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. Sure I had eaten nothing but dog food and stale bread for god knows how long.

Merle had obviously heard it, as he quickly moved across the room to grab a plate of food and set it down on my lap. "Here brother, eat" he told me softly. "It'll probably be a little cold by now" he added.

Like hell if I cared if it was "a little cold". I grabbed the meat off the plate and brought it to my mouth, moving faster than I thought it was physically possible for me to eat. Damn plain meat had never tasted so good.

Merle had been right, it was a little cold, but I could barely tell, as I proceeded to devour the rest of the plate, potatoes and some vegetables. Once done, I set the plate down and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

Rosita made her way towards me and grabbed the now empty plate. She then left the room.

I laid back down, resting my arm behind my head.

His expression suddenly changed the second the door clicked shut. "Never seen ya eat that fast..." He started, watching me. "They did feed ya, right?"

I nodded slowly. They had given me something to eat, whether or not it was considered food was a completely different story. "Yeah..."

He didn't look convinced, as he eyes fell on me. "Ya look like hell" he commented.

"Feel like it..." I muttered. I was glad that at least most of my condition was hidden by a layer of dirt. He didn't even know the half of it.

"I'll letcha get some sleep" he fixed the blanket as he laid it across me.

I nodded, feeling my eyes close involuntarily, and realized I was still exhausted. "Thanks bro..."

He turned around and smiled. "Ain't a problem" he ran his hand over my head, brushing the hair out of my eyes. "Goodnigh' Daryl"


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

This chapter will start in a different perspective other than Daryl's in a flashback and then transition back to Daryl's. I am nearing the end of what I have already written and probably will not be working on this anymore until the next season starts. Anyways, enjoy!

(Dwight POV)

 _I opened the door to my room, throwing the crossbow down and closing the door. Every bone in my entire body ached with exhaustion._

 _We had just returned from Alexandria, our first visit. There was a ton of shit there that we had brought back with us, hell I had found myself a new couch since my old one was an absolute piece of shit._

 _I collapsed on my couch, keeping my shoes on. Quite frankly I didn't give a shit. I looked at my hand, noticing a small nick in it and a very small amount of blood. It was from fighting with the prisoner trying to get him back in the cell which was not easy. That fight combined with the lifting of all kinds of furniture had me wanting very much to sleep._

 _I laid my arm over my forehead and closed my eyes. A knock at the door stopped me. I sighed as I sat up, rubbing my eyes and stretching. A second knock at the door, irritated the shit out of me. "Give me one fucking second!" I shouted._

 _I stood up and grabbed my bow, "I swear, if that's fucking you, I'm going to shove Lucille up your ass" I muttered to myself, as I headed over to the door. I opened it roughly, expecting so see Negan with his cocky ass smile, but was unprepared for who it was instead. "Sherry..."_

 _She looked behind her, nervously. "Can I come in?"_

 _I nodded. "Sure, sure" I stepped out of the way to let her come in. I leaned out the door and looked both ways down the hallway, before closing the door and locking it._

 _"Does he know you're here?" I asked rather quickly._

 _She shook her head "No"_

 _"Good" I turned away from her, rubbing the back of my head. What the hell was she up to? She was going to get both of us killed. I looked over my shoulder at her. "You shouldn't be here"_

 _She looked up. "I know" she took a deep breath. "I need to ask you a favor"_

 _I nodded "anything"_

 _She took another deep breath "ok..." She glanced over her shoulder. "Promise me you won't tell anyone"_

 _What was she up to? "I promise"_

(Daryl POV)

 _I woke up, my eyes already adjusted to the darkness in my cell. I sat up, surprised to hear that it was quiet. It was unusual._

 _But I wasn't complaining at all. Silence was better than that stupid song. My clothes were sticking to my skin with sweat and it was incredibly uncomfortable. I pulled my knees close to my chest, and rested my arms on my legs._

 _My hair hung in my face, stringy and dripping. I shook from a mixture of fear and weakness. I had never been so hungry in his entire life and there were four or five half sandwiches on the ground that I wasn't planning on touching._

 _I rested my head back on the hard cement wall, wondering if anyone was actually missing me. I had killed Glenn and Maggie. It would make perfect sense for them all to hate me._

 _That information had been too much to handle. I had been there when Rick had told Negan. The bastard had been looking for her for god knows why, but the priest had showed us her grave instead. She had probably killed herself as soon as they had gotten back, and it was my fault._

 _I closed my eyes, and thought about how long I had been here, days, weeks, months. I had no idea. The only thing that appeared to be constant was Dwight bringing me food, not that I considered the shitty dog food sandwiches food, but shockingly it was enough, and when I was hungry I ate them. I had no idea how much time passed between each time the door opened, but at a guess it was probably at least half a day._

 _Then again, there were times where it felt like a matter of minutes and then times where it felt like days. It was probably intentional, just to mess with my sense of time. It was all a part of breaking me down._

 _A pair of footsteps outside the cell, made me tense up. I thought for sure that it was Dwight turning on the music again. I was wrong. "Daryl?" I heard a soft voice call from outside the door. "Daryl?" Sherry? Dwight's ex-wife. What the hell did she want? I heard her take a deep breath. "Are you ok?"_

 _I found myself shaking my head but I wasn't willing to admit it to her. "Fine..."_

 _She remained silent for a second. "Ok..." She trailed off. "If you need anything, just let me know..." I wasn't going to point out the obvious, that there was nothing I needed that she could give to me, due to the steel door between us. I nodded slowly, not saying anything._

 _"Well goodnight..." I heard her footsteps gradually fade away until she was gone. It was the second time she had come to talk to me, the last time she had been upset, claiming that she was sorry. Sorry for taking my shit after I had offered to take them back to my group. I should've killed them when I first got away._

 _I had opened the bag to get my bow out, and had seen that there was insulin at the bottom of it. I had been soft and it had cost me. I returned to the group, brought the bag back, and was about to leave. That was when other saviors had come, trying to bring the three of them back to Negan._

 _I had helped them escape, only for Sherry's sister to get bit and die. That's when I had offered the remaining two a place at Alexandria. They had both agreed, but I didn't realize their alternate plan until it was too late. I had just pulled my bike out of the trees, when I had heard the tension in Dwight's voice. I knew a gun was going to be pointed at me a moment later, but I had failed to get my bow aimed at him before I had heard the click of the safety._

 _If I had killed them, Denise would still be alive, so would Abraham and Glenn and Maggie. I most certainly wouldn't be locked in this shit hole. The rest of my group wouldn't be so miserable either. Why the hell had I not killed them?_

 _I knew the answer easily. Someone had once told me that there were still good people in the world. I had been a fool to believe that they had been two of those good people, only for them to turn on me. And yet, still Sherry was trying to apologize. As if it would change shit._

 _As much as it pained me to say, Beth had been wrong. There was no one left in this world, who was "good". Everyone was only in it for themselves. It was survival of the fittest. Kill or be killed. It didn't leave much room for softness. You couldn't trust anyone anymore. I had learned that the hard way._

 _That's why I was still locked up in a room barely twice as big as I was. That and of course that I would never give in. I'd never give up myself in exchange for my freedom from this hell. I'd never betray my group, the one thing I had left to live for._

 _And if they decided to kill me, it'd be somewhat of a relief to die while still remaining loyal to the people I cared about. It seemed to be the only possible way of escaping. I had tried before, only to get caught and get the shit beaten out of me. It had turned out to be a trap. I should've known better. They didn't just leave the door open, or a line of bikes right in front of me. I should've fucking known. I just had been so desperate to get out that I hadn't thought twice._

 _I felt my stomach growl again, and I let my head fall. I barely even had the strength to keep my head up. I had to get out of here, and soon. Although I would've never imagined that loud music, dog food sandwiches, and a small, dark room would ever bother me, it was really doing exactly what they wanted, it was starting to break me. It was happening slow, little by little, day by day, but I could feel it, and that scared the hell out of me._

 _I slowly positioned myself so that I was laying down on the hard floor, my arm underneath my head. I figured that now would probably be the best time to get some sleep, while it was quiet. I closed my eyes, trying to ignore that my entire body was shaking and my head was pounding. I shifted trying to get as comfortable as I possibly could while lying on concrete, in blood and sweat soaked clothes._

 _I rested my other arm over my eyes, I habit I had developed a long time ago, during my shitty childhood, when I had needed to block out everything happening around me in order to just go to sleep. It was similar to now, except that it was loud back then, everyone yelling, and now it was unbearably quiet, at least when the song wasn't playing, which wasn't often._

 _I would've once given anything to be completely alone, but now all I wanted was someone to tell me that it was going to ok, that I was going to make it home, which at this point, I didn't believe either. I was going to die here, but not for a long time. That much I knew. Escape wasn't possible, that much was certain. It was either give in, which wasn't an option, or give up. Give up fighting, let my life fade away until there was nothing left._

I woke to the sound of Merle's deep snoring. There weren't any windows anywhere, but I was pretty sure it was night time by now. I pushed myself up, my hand slipping on one of the blankets making it harder to stand. The last time I had tried I had passed out, but I couldn't just lay here any longer, I had to walk around even if it killed me.

I opened the door, trying to keep quiet and not wake up my brother. There was no way he'd want me up. He was too worried about my condition, probably more than I was. That's just how he was. As I stepped outside, the night air was crisp and cool against my skin, and I shivered slightly. The streets of Alexandria were empty, with not a person in sight. I wondered what time it was, and unfortunately I couldn't tell. All I knew was that it was late.

I found myself walking towards the front gate, with really no purpose in mind. I noticed someone keeping watch, but couldn't tell who it was from a distance. Quite frankly I didn't care, unless they were to see me.

Then I heard a noise that cut through the silence of the night. It sounded like scraping along wood. I jogged towards the noise. That's when I noticed the hand over the top of the wall. Someone was trying to climb in! I completely forgot about how weak I was and that I had no weapon and started climbing the opposite side of the wall, wanting to know who was trying to get into my home.

Once I reached the top, I saw a black silhouette running towards the trees. I climbed over the top, and jumped down on the ground. Then I took off after them, running into the woods. I was going to catch them.

After I chased after them for awhile, my vision grew blurry and my head ached, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. Not before I found out what they were doing. I had always had pretty good endurance, and any other time I could've probably kept going, but my time at the sanctuary had taken its toll on me. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to stop, and yet I refused.

The figure in front of me had started to slow down. Suddenly they stopped and I tackled them to the ground. "The hell ya doin?!" I shouted in between deep gasps, as I attempted to hold them down. I hadn't noticed how far east we were.

The figure beneath me, shoved me off them and placed a gloved hand over my mouth. "Shhh" the person was completely dressed in black, with a hood and scarf covering their face. They obviously wanted to hide who they were.

I froze as a single whistle cut through the night. Saviors! Then another, then another. Shit! I was not going back, I couldn't go back. Not ever. I felt myself tremble as I slowly realized how fucked I was. This was a trap and I had fallen for it.

I tried to get up, tried to run but the person had grabbed my arm tightly and was holding on to me, not letting me move. I was too weak to break their grip. I panicked as I fought back. How could I have been so stupid? I wasn't going back there, and yet I could see no way of getting out of this.

I heard the whistling get closer, and I struggled even more to free myself. I wasn't getting anywhere and was really just wasting more energy. I felt my heart beating at such a rapid pace it felt like it might burst from my chest. My breaths were coming in sharp gasps, and my throat burned from running.

They pushed me down as I heard a set of footsteps. They were right behind us, and yet they didn't see us. It was just a matter of time before the person holding me down was going to point me out to them, and that was it. I'd be saying goodbye to my newfound freedom that I wasn't ready to give up, I'd never be. That place had been actual Hell.

I pushed back against them with very little success. The leaves around me rustled as I fought back. I was making too much noise but I wasn't going to stop until I got away.

Another whistle made me freeze almost instantly. There was nothing I could do at this point I was dead. If I ran, they'd catch me, if I stayed, they'd see me, if I tried to hide, they'd find me. There was no way to win this, and I knew that no matter what I was going to be back there before morning.

The person fighting with me, used the fact that I had frozen up, to hold my arms behind my back. I started struggling again, only for them to push me down against the ground. I kicked my leg at their chest, just trying to free myself from their grip.

"Shhh!" they told me again. I stopped fighting, just long enough that I could hear the whistling fading away now. They were leaving.

I stayed there for a minute, trying to catch my breath, as they released me. How had I gotten through that? I had thought for sure I was dead. Why hadn't they turned me in to the saviors? Were they not one of them? Then why were they trying to get into Alexandria?

I turned around as I took in deep breaths of air. I could still feel my body shaking but it was starting to ebb away. "Who..." I started and took another shaky breath. "Who are you?..." I asked slowly. I figured I was probably not going to get a name, but I was hoping the answer would've hinted to me at least slightly.

Instead they ignored my question and stood up. They moved out of the way to reveal a large canvas bag. I stared at it a second, not quite knowing what to make of the whole situation. I remained on the ground, partially because I lacked the strength to push myself up, but mostly because I was still on edge because of the group of saviors and keeping low seemed to be the better option.

"Wha'?" I muttered softly, as the person still didn't say anything. They moved towards the bag, unzipped it, and stepped away once again. I felt myself tense up as I wondered what they were doing. Eventually curiosity got the best of me, and I pushed myself up off the ground and towards the bag. I glanced down into it and slowly reached in. My hand hit metal and I grabbed on to something. As I lifted it out, I realized that it was my crossbow.

Where the hell had they gotten it from? I glanced behind me, wanting to know the answer, when I realized that I wasn't going to get one. I sighed deeply as I reached into the bag a second time, this time finding my vest. I looked behind me again, to see that whoever had brought my stuff was gone and I had no idea who it had been.

I quickly threw the vest on and put the strap of my crossbow over my shoulder. It was heavy and made my shoulder ache as it rubbed against where I had gotten shot, but I was glad to have a weapon on me once again. It had been a long time, definitely before I had been captured by Dwight. No that wasn't true.

Immediately, I started running back towards the west, towards home. I kept low the majority of the time, hoping that no one would see me. I didn't slow until I was in front of the gates of Alexandria. I stopped just long enough to catch my breath. I glanced up at the sky to see that the sun was just starting to come into view.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note:

This is going to be a shorter chapter as it was one but now I split it into two.

(Daryl POV)

Instead of going back inside the gates, I went around them and towards the trees. It was dawn and I had just gotten my bow back, not to mention I desperately wanted to be alone, and more than likely we needed food.

I walked quietly among the trees, watching the ground for tracks that were fresher than a few days. A rustle in the bushes alerted me that something was closer by then I had thought. I looked up to see the shape of a deer in the undergrowth. I quietly took my crossbow off my shoulder, and loaded it. The process took a little more effort than usual, just because my shoulder was aching. Still it was manageable to do without making noise, if I grit my teeth together to keep from crying out in pain.

I aimed my bow at the deer, only for it to look at me, and run away into the trees. I cursed under my breath as I chased after it. I noticed it run into a small clearing and I kept to the trees as it glanced around for a few seconds before it began grazing on grass.

I took a step forward, once again aiming my bow at it. It still hadn't noticed me. I took another step and suddenly jumped and heard a stick crack underneath me. Shit! The deer quickly looked up at the sudden noise, and I pulled the trigger before it could run. I watched the arrow hit it in the shoulder, which was somewhat ironic.

What a sloppy catch that had been. What the hell had happened? Normally I didn't make any sound in the woods, but today for some reason, was different. And why the hell had I jumped? I had never jumped at nothing before, so what had startled me? It had been completely silent. What was wrong with me?

I made my way over to the now dead deer. I bent down and ripped the arrow out of it. I didn't bother reloading the arrow, instead I just stuck it back with the others in the bow.

I grabbed the deer by its hind legs and started to drag it back to Alexandria. It was heavy, and certainly made my shoulder throb, but I wasn't going to just leave it out there. I just had to ignore the pain and deal with it.

Luckily I wasn't very far from the gate. I was almost there, when I heard Rosita's voice. "I can't just let people in"

I dropped the deer and quickly went towards the sound of her voice. Rosita was standing inside the gate, with the inner fence open but not the outer one. That's when I recognized the person standing there, well sort of.

"I need to see Rick" he told her. His voice was muffled by a scarf over his face. It was the same asshole who I had chased through the woods.

I heard Rosita sigh loudly. "Then tell me who you are or take the damn scarf off!" She shouted back. Then she must've seen me because her eyes softened. "When did you leave?" She asked softly.

The man turned around. "Daryl..." He started awkwardly. He laughed a nervous chuckle. "Funny seeing you here..." He watched me for another second. "I see you got your stuff back"

I felt my fingers curl into fists as I desperately wanted to punch him. What the hell was he still doing over here?! I didn't even know who he was, but something about him pissed me off for whatever reason. "Who are you?" I growled at him under my breath.

"What was that?" he replied. Why did it sound so familiar? "Seriously I didn't hear what you said"

Rosita seemed to know because she quickly became incredibly pissed off. "Get out!" She shouted and started to shut the fence.

"I need to see Rick!" He repeated. I saw Rick starting to come up behind her.

"Let him in Rosita" he told her softly. So it was someone that Rick trusted yet Rosita couldn't stand. I still had no idea.

"But he's one of them!" She protested.

One of who? The saviors? Then why had he spared me and why did Rick trust him?

"I'm. Not." He growled under his breath.

"Let him in" Rick repeated.

Rosita sighed again as she slid open the gate. The man chuckled again as he went over to Rick. "Glad I wore this thing" he told him with a light nervous chuckle. "That asshole would probably beat the shit outta me if he knew who I was..."

Rick shook his head "No he wouldn't" I saw him glance over at me. "Just go to the church, Maggie's already there" he told him not taking his eyes off me.

The stranger did as he was told and started walking away from him. A second later an angry Rosita went after him.

"Daryl" I heard Rick's voice and turned around to face him. He had taken a few more steps towards me and when I looked up I could see genuine concern in his eyes.

I swallowed nervously and immediately looked down at the ground. I knew he shouldn't care about me anymore because of Glenn, but it was obvious he did.

I remembered the morning when he had first told me exactly how much he had cared about me. Before I had thought that I was just an asset to our group, just someone who was helping them survive. But then he had said that I was his brother. I had been shocked to say the least, and a little confused.

"Daryl" I heard him repeat. I forced myself to look up at him. "Are you ok?"

Ok? No I wasn't ok. I jumped at literally nothing, I was constantly weak, and I just wanted these memories to go away. I wanted to forget that god damn song that they had used to torture me. I wanted to pretend that I had no idea what dog food tasted like. I wanted to forget how I had been forced to do the most humiliating chores just so I'd break faster. Until then, I was never going to be ok. I was never going to be the same again.

"Daryl..." I looked up again as much as I didn't want to. I could feel myself trembling for no reason at all. I could see obvious worry on his face. I hadn't answered his question. I didn't need to, he already knew what my answer was.

As I looked down again I felt something grab onto me. I tried to pull away, before I realized that it was only Rick. He had wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug.

I let my head fall against his shoulder, trying to resist the strong urge to cry. My eyes and throat were burning and I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I started quietly sobbing into the fabric of his shirt, at this point not caring who saw it and what they would think.

"You'll be alright" I heard his voice right next to my ear. I couldn't help but remember the last time I had heard those words. It was right after I had gotten shot in the shoulder by Dwight, right before I had blacked out.

This time was different. It was someone I trusted with my life saying those words to me, not the prick I'd give anything to kill and who wanted me dead probably just as much.

"It's all going to be ok brother" Rick continued. That was the second time he had called me brother. The first being after he had found me with that other group, the ones who were going to kill him, Michonne and Carl, as well as me. I had been ashamed then but it was nothing compared to how I was feeling now.

"The hell ya talkin' 'bout, brother?" I heard a guff voice behind us. I pulled away from Rick and turned around to see Merle, glaring at Rick. It didn't take long for me to figure out this was not going to end well.

I took a step towards him, hoping I could talk him out of doing whatever stupid thing he planning. It was obvious he was pissed at Rick for calling me brother. "Merle..."

He put his hand up to stop me from moving any closer to him. "Hold up there lil' brother" he glanced back at Rick. "I think it's time for a lil' chit chat with officer friendly"

"Merle" I repeated as I took another step towards him, only to be stopped by his hand hitting my chest.

He ignored me, and I could see that his one hand was curled into a fist. His eyes were glued on Rick's.

"Fine but we talk here" Rick told him. I was the only thing standing in between them and I was glad for that. Rick had no idea what my brother was planning on doing, but I knew it wasn't just talking. He wasn't very good at just talking it out.

"Sounds 'bout righ'" Merle added, with an angry smirk. I swallowed nervously as I could see that he had started walking slowly around me, as if he was circling Rick, who hadn't caught on to what he was up to.

The next few moments happened so fast. Merle had rushed at Rick hitting him in the gut with his metal hand. He had fallen to the ground only for Merle to grab his shoulders and hit the ground with him. His hands had wrapped around Rick's throat as his breaths became harsh as he tried to fight back, but Merle was much stronger than Rick was.

I stood there, not knowing what to do but panicking for both of their lives. But I couldn't do anything. I felt like I was frozen to the ground as everything around me was fading except for the two men fighting in the dirt.

Shockingly enough, Rick was able to hold his own against my brother. He had successfully gotten his hands off his neck and pin his one arm to the ground. Merle struggled underneath him, trying to land a punch on his side, but they were weak and didn't do any damage. It was clear that Rick was just trying to hold Merle down, while Merle was the one trying to hurt him.

"Calm down" Rick hissed into his ear.

Merle glared back at him with a look of pure hatred. "He ain't ya brother" he growled at him.

That's what this was about? Me? They were fighting because Rick had called me his brother? Why the hell did Merle care? Didn't he know that it was just Rick showing that he cared about me? Why did it bother him?

I wanted to explain it to him, but the second I opened my mouth, I couldn't speak. I closed it and swallowed nervously, my concern growing as the fight quickly became more and more heated.

Suddenly I found myself pulling Merle off of Rick, while he was still fighting back. I could hear him shouting at me to release him, but I didn't. Michonne had helped Rick off the ground, who didn't look too bad, except for the fact that he had a few bruises on his face. Merle was still trying to grab at him with his one hand.

As I pulled him further away from Rick, he whirled around to face me. "Ain't no surprise yer sidin' with 'im now" he muttered under his breath casting a look of hatred at Rick.

"Let it go!" Rick shouted at him, but Merle hadn't been paying attention to him as he took another step towards me, and I let go of him. I don't know why, but all of a sudden I grew incredibly nervous. There was something about how close he was standing to me, and how soft he was talking that reminded me of the savior leader. He had been trying to intimidate me, but it hadn't worked. Hell, I hadn't even flinched when he swung the bat at me. Funny because now whenever he brought the damn bat anywhere close to me, I found myself flinching.

Through my deep breathing and slight panic I had to look up just to convince myself that it wasn't the blood thirsty maniac that was trying to talk to me, but my own brother. "Daryl?" I looked up, feeling my body tremble slightly but it was gone almost as quickly as it came.

I saw concern briefly flood his eyes before it was replaced with anger and determination. I looked back down. "Hey" he forced my head up. "He ain'cha brother" he muttered softly. I looked back down. My mind was spinning. At this point Rick was more of a brother to me than Merle had ever been.

"Nah" I muttered softly. "He is" I glanced over at Rick and back to Merle. "More than ya eve' was". I felt guilty the second I saw his expression. He was crushed but I was right and I think he knew it too.

"I ain't the one that let'cha get taken by them monsters" he muttered as he took a step away from me.

"Ya weren't there to stop 'em!" Suddenly I was shouting at him. I had no idea why, but the idea of trying to turn me against Rick had pissed me off. Rick had always been there when I needed him. When Beth had died, Rick had actually tried to talk to me about it, while Merle had simply teased me for being so upset. He hadn't known what she had done for me, he hadn't cared.

And the only reason he hadn't been there the night they took me, was that he hadn't gone after me. After Denise had died I had decided to go after the man who had killed her. I was drunk, it was stupid, but I felt responsible for getting her killed, by not killing the man in the burnt forest, when I had had the chance. And my own brother hadn't even gone after me.

To be fair, neither had Rick, but I'm sure he had his reasons not to. I had told Merle what I was planning to do, and he had been to drunk to care. It ended up being Glenn, Michonne, and Rosita who had actually decided to go after me. Now it was bull shit that he was actually trying to care, just because Rick had called me brother. It wasn't about me at all, it was about him being better than Rick. I knew that and it pissed me off.

"Ya should've never been in this mess! It ain't ya fight!" He shouted back at me.

Now that was far from true. It was just as much my fight as it was Rick's. I had been a part of making the deal at Hilltop, as well as been at the outpost. And then there was Dwight. I needed to at the very least kill him, before I was ready to be done fighting. I should've killed him a long time ago, and I owed it to Denise, and to anyone else he could've killed while I had been locked up.

"It is" I growled softly. I wasn't going to explain it to him, he wouldn't understand. This group was my family, and I'd do anything to protect them. I'd fight to the death if I had to. And that's what my brother didn't understand.

"They coulda killed ya!" He shouted. "All because ya were defendin' a bunch'a pussies who don' give a shit 'bout ya!"

"They care more 'bout me than ya eve' did!" I wouldn't of said it if it wasn't true, as much as it probably hurt to hear it, he had to know I was right.

"So why the hell d'ya care?!" He shouted back.

I was getting more and more pissed off. "What d'ya want me to be like ya? Not give a shit 'bout nothin' but gettin' drunk and high all the time?! I ain't like ya! I never was!" He was up in my face now, almost like he was about to try and beat the shit out of me. I glared back at him, my eyes meeting his. I regretted my next words the second they left my mouth. "I wouldn'ta left my brother alone with 'im"

Guilt immediately crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced by an expression of anger. It was probably as mad as I had ever seen him. "Y-ya-" I could hear his voice shaking in rage. "Ya asshole!"

I was shoved back, hard. My shoulder ached from the impact and I felt myself stumble and fall to the ground. I glared up at him, although I was angry at myself. Why the hell had I said that? I knew he was sorry, even though he'd never admit it. I hadn't been looking for a reaction, I hadn't wanted him to get hurt by it. Why was I so angry? If wasn't anything new for him to tell me my group didn't care about me. So why had I said the one thing that would hurt him more than anything else?

I stood up, and without thinking shoved him back just as hard. I watched as he fell back into the mysterious man who had given me back my crossbow.

Merle stood up, glaring at me. He shook his head and walked away from me. I was ready to fight I didn't want him to just walk away. I was about to go after him, when I heard a cough from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see the man standing up.

His hood had slipped and I could see stringy dirty blonde hair. As he lifted his head, the scarf that had been tied over his face fell to the ground and I could see an ugly burn etched into his skin.

As his eyes met mine, I could see obvious panic in them. He gave off a small nervous chuckle. "Hey Daryl...".


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: The final piece of this fanfic that I have already written. This chapter will once again focus on Daryl, but also on another character we haven't seen much of. As always, enjoy!

(Daryl POV)

Before I knew it, I had rushed at him and tackled him to the ground. I held him down as I started punching him over and over again. I could feel that I was quickly losing control of my self. My vision was blurring, and my breath was coming in and out in sharp gasps.

The only thing I was aware of was the burning rage coursing through my veins. All I could think about was everything the bastard had done to me, and my group. It had started with him and Sherry stealing my shit, and then he had shot Denise with my own bow, and then he had shot me. Then it was the hell he had put me through when I was locked up by the saviors, the dog food sandwiches, that stupid excruciating song, the nights where I couldn't even sleep because I was in so much pain. The nights when I was cruelly woken up by either the same song that played only in my nightmares, or a bucket of freezing water.

This was revenge for everything he had ever done. I didn't care about mercy, hell I didn't even care if I killed him or not. All I wanted in that moment was to cause just as much pain to him as he had to me.

"Daryl!" I was faintly aware of the shouting behind me, but it didn't stop me from pounding my fist into his rib cage one more time. By now his eyes were black and there were serious bruises covering his face. "Daryl!"

And then I felt arms grab me from behind, trying to pull me away from the savior. I struggled against the grip, trying to strangle the man beneath me. After another second, I was forced off of him, feeling my shoulders being pushed back. A sharp pain spread up my arm and I grit my teeth to keep from yelling out from pain. But I stopped fighting.

"Daryl" Rick was now standing in front of me, in between me and the other man. I tried to stand up to lunge at him again but was stopped by Rick. "Daryl stop" he told me softly.

It was only then I felt a single tear rolling down my cheek. I was in pain, not physically but definitely mentally. Why was he here? Why had Rick wanted him here? Why the fuck did he even trust him.

"Rosita!" Rick called out. I hadn't even noticed her standing there until he had said something. "Take him to the infirmary and get him cleaned up."

She didn't look happy, and I quite frankly couldn't blame her. The guy was an asshole. Still she clearly didn't want to disobey Rick as she walked over to Dwight and helped him off the ground. "Come on" she muttered as she lead him towards the infirmary which was really just a place we stored anything medical since we no longer had a doctor, thanks to the same prick Rosita was bringing in there.

Once they were gone, Rick turned back to me. "I know this might be hard for you to understand, but he's on our side" he started.

I would've thought he was making a joke if the situation hadn't been so serious, hell I might've even laughed. How could he possibly be on our side? He was, after all one of Negan's top guys.

I didn't say anything as I looked back at Rick with a look of disbelief. "I know you've had your issues with him, but he wants to take out Negan, and that's what we all want" I still remained silent. "I think that it's not a bad idea to have someone on the inside fighting for us."

He had a point there, but maybe someone other than Dwight. I didn't trust him at all, I didn't trust any of the saviors except for probably Sherry.

I shook my head "not 'im..." I muttered.

Rick sighed. "Daryl, we can trust him"

Immediately I found myself remembering the burnt forest, when he and his wife had stabbed me in the back by taking my shit. If I couldn't trust him then, why the hell should I trust him now? "Nah, we can't"

I stood up, suddenly realizing I had left my catch just outside the gates, the perfect excuse to just walk away. I had been distracted by Rosita yelling at the stranger, who I now knew was Dwight. I opened the two gates and headed out, not caring enough to hear if anyone was trying to stop me. I found the deer where I had left it, and it appeared to be completely untouched, I was lucky walkers hadn't got to it.

I bent down to grab it, just as I heard the hum of a truck engine. I ducked down behind a bush, looking over it to see that four or five savior trucks were parked outside the gates. Immediately I panicked and ducked back behind the bush. My heart was racing as I thought about what they'd do if they found me. I wasn't going back, I was never going back.

So I did what I was going to regret later on. I left my catch where it was, and fled to the trees, where I knew I'd be safe from them. I knew I was being a coward, but I didn't care. I was terrified. I didn't want to be found by them. I stopped running and collapsed onto the dirt floor, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst from my chest. I was far enough away that I was safe, for now.

 _I blinked my eyes open, to hear silence. It was actually the first night spent in that hell that I had actually slept all the way through, or at least I thought I did. There was really no way of knowing. The song hadn't played in a few days now and I was glad about it. Even Dwight hadn't seemed to notice, whenever he came to "feed" me._

 _I leaned back against the wall of the cell, shivering. I was covered in sweat and it didn't help warm me up at all. If anything it made it all worse. I laid my head on my knees as I pulled them closer to my chest, in an attempt to warm me up._

 _A light set of footsteps outside the door made me jump. I had seemingly dozed off. "Daryl?" It was Sherry again. What the hell did she want now? "I brought you something" she added._

 _I found myself wondering what the hell she brought me. At this point anything sounded nice, food, water, a clean set of clothes. "Can I come in?" She asked._

 _I sighed. Dwight must've given her the key. That meant that this couldn't be a good thing that she was here. But even so, I found myself nodding._

 _I had to remind myself that she couldn't see me nodding. "Fine" I muttered softly, as I let my head fall against the wall._

 _As the door opened, I shielded my eyes from the light with my hand. I could see that she was carrying something in her hands. What it was I couldn't tell._

 _She made her way over to me, and laid a blanket over my shivering body. Immediately I felt better. It was exactly what I had needed. "Thank you" I muttered not looking up._

 _She nodded. "I figured you were probably cold, these rooms always are"_

 _I nodded. I couldn't agree more. But I was confused about what she was doing. Why was she helping me? I didn't understand._

 _She sat down next to me. She reached into a pocket on her dress and pulled something out. "You're going to need this when I get you out." She told me as she placed it into my hand. It was the key to my bike, and I was wondering where the hell she gotten it from. I had kept the key with the bike, and I hid the bike way before I was captured._

 _And she has said she was going to get me out? How was that possible? I had tried to escape before, how was this going to be any different._

 _She stood up and planted a small kiss on my forehead. It was rather odd, considering I hardly knew her, but at this point, anything was welcome. Hell, I needed it just to stay sane._

 _She gave a small smile and walked out, closing the door behind her. And then it was dark again. I readjusted my position, as I laid down on the cold cement. I rested my head on my arm, as I looked over the key that she had given me. Was she really planning on helping me escape? And if so what did she have in mind? My mind was racing with questions, as I considered, for the first time, that I might actually get out of this alive._

(No POV)

Rosita soaked a piece of gauze in antiseptic, trying not to think about how pissed she was about doing this. The man had fallen asleep almost minutes after they had gotten there.

She walked back over to the table, watching him for a minute, before wiping away the dried blood that was caked onto his skin, just below his nose. Daryl had done some serious damage to the man, his nose was broken, and a thick dark bruise covered the side of his face that wasn't burnt. She was pretty sure he had broken a rib or two as well.

She sighed as she went into one of the cabinets, looking for something to wrap up his nose. In all honesty, she had no clue what she was doing.

Suddenly she heard a small grunt from the man behind her. She looked back to see he was trying to sit up, and she didn't care enough to stop him.

"Rooositah" he exaggerated her name as he normally did which pissed her off. "I didn't think you'd still be here"

She bit her lip, as she very much preferred when he was asleep. This was going to be a lot harder now. She found a roll of a thicker fabric that she could probably use.

She turned around faking a smile. "I need you to lie down so I can do this" she told with faux sincerity.

He smiled slightly, laying back down. "You know this is awfully uncomfortable, maybe you could get me a pillow or something?" He asked.

Rosita sighed again. "I could if they weren't given away to everyone who doesn't have a mattress" she told him, anger seeping into her voice.

He chuckled slightly. "Well then I guess that'd be a no" There was still wet blood dripping from his nose. She grabbed another piece of gauze and bit her lip again as she wiped it away.

"So what the hell did you do to piss Daryl off this much?" She asked, really just trying to make conversation. She knew well some of the things the man had done, but certainly not all.

"Mainly what I was asked to do" he told her, his voice void of any real emotion. "I don't like to go against orders..." He trailed off.

"And Denise?" She demanded, using her knife to cut the bandages. "Why'd you shoot her. Was that an order too?"

He looked confused for a second and then he understood. "Someone had to die and I wasn't aiming for her..." He told her.

"Then who?..." It suddenly clicked. Daryl. He had been aiming for Daryl. They had met before and Daryl had clearly been angry at him. Was Dwight mad at Daryl too? "Then why were you aiming for him?" She leaned into him, as she started to bandage up his nose, getting a close view of his nasty burn. "Did he cause that?" It seemed very unlikely, but it was the only possible reason she could think of.

He looked down. "No he didn't..." He took a deep breath and looked back up. "It's quite complicated..."

"You killed a friend, I think the least you can do is tell me why" Rosita snapped back at him, as she finished up bandaging his nose.

He chuckled again "you really don't like me, do you?" He asked. "Roooositah?"

She stood up as she rolled the left over bandages up, and set them behind her. She gave an exasperated sigh. "No I don't" it was taking all she had in her to not strangle him right then and there.

"Figured as much" he added with a cocky smirk. She bit her lip again as she took another piece of gauze, soaked it in more antiseptic. She went back over to him, hesitating for a second before wiping the gauze over his bruises.

He tensed up, sucking in his breath. "Shit that hurt!" He exclaimed as she pulled away.

"Well you probably deserved it" she muttered as she set the gauze aside.

"Can't disagree with you on that" he stated.

She went over to a small freezer where the kept bags of ice. She opened it and grabbed one, before closing it and walking back over to Dwight. "Here" she muttered, handing it to him.

He hesitated a second before taking it. "Thanks..." He held it over his bruised face, wincing slightly.

Rosita went back to the counter, to finish cleaning up. She capped the small bottle of antiseptic and put it back into the cabinet.

"You're not going to say anything?" He asked.

She turned around. She was frustrated beyond belief and suddenly she just lost it "What do you want me to say? Your welcome? Well I'm not going to because it's not true! I hate you and your group!" She slammed the cabinet shut.

He shook his head "clearly you don't understand..."

"What don't I understand? That all of you are pricks who only care about yourselves?" She was pissed off to be perfectly honest, and the majority off it was aimed at Dwight, the rest being towards Negan.

"First of all, there is no "all of us". It's just me and them" he muttered. "And second, no you don't understand..." He had taken the ice off his face and was now fidgeting with it nervously. "You never will..."

She sighed. "Fine then explain it to me, because I can't see why you'd kill for someone else. Why you'd kneel to him and treat him like a God."

"The reason is right in front of your face..." He muttered, putting the ice back over his bruises.

Rosita was puzzled for a second. She had no clue what he was talking about. And then her eyes moved to the burn covering the left side of his face. "Did they do that?" She asked quietly.

He sucked in his breath and looked up, clearly not wanting to tell her, but at this point he had dug himself so far into a grave that he really had no choice. "Negan did..."

"What'd you do?" She asked suddenly curious. She had gotten cut for trying to shoot Negan, and Eugene had been taken. How he had escaped was beyond her, but she was glad he had. She wanted to know what he could of possibly done to get burnt like that.

"Something stupid..." He muttered, letting his head fall, his hair hanging over his burn, almost covering it.

Rosita bit her lip, suddenly feeling guilty about how she had acted before, and also a strange feeling of pity. "So you are helping Rick now?" She asked. He looked up. "I mean why else would he let you be here?"

He nodded "yeah I am" he sighed "I haven't done much of anything though." He paused. "Well except get that bullet maker out of there"

Her breath caught in her throat. "You're the one who got Eugene out?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah I did..."

She smiled slightly, her feelings had switched from complete hatred, to pity, to gratitude in a matter of minutes. She bent down and moved his stringy hair out of his face, and planted a small kiss on his forehead. "Thank you"

He swallowed nervously. "It wasn't for you..."

"Doesn't matter" she stood back up. "I'm thankful anyway" she watched him for a minute. "You know you're not as horrible as you seem"

He chuckled slightly, although at this point it was more of a nervous laugh. "I want them to think it's who I am" he told her. "It's too easy to lose yourself in that place..."

"Daryl seems fine" she told him. Ok maybe fine wasn't the word but he was himself from what she had seen so far.

He sighed. "Daryl never broke" he told her, the slightest hint of jealousy seeping into his voice. He looked up at the ceiling, trying desperately not to meet her eyes. "I did..."

Rosita bit her lip again. She tasted a slight metallic taste, meaning she had made it bleed. She didn't know what to say at this point. He seemed destroyed, broken. "You ok?"

He took a deep breath as he looked back at her. "I will be..." He trailed off looking at the ground "eventually..."

She smiled slightly. It was good enough for her. "Just get some sleep"

He sighed as he laid back down. "I'm not going to..." He muttered.

"Well try" she went into one of the closets, pulling out a blanket and a pillow, and bringing it back over to Dwight. "Sit up" she instructed him.

He did as he was told, eyeing the pillow with a slight smirk. "I thought I wasn't getting a pillow?"

"Changed my mind" she muttered as she set the pillow behind him. As he laid back down, she laid the blanket over him. "It's not much" she admitted.

He smiled a genuine smile. "Thanks" his eyes lit up in mischievousness. "Rooooositah"

She rolled her eyes but found herself still grinning nonetheless. "Your welcome Dwight"

He closed his eyes, and after a few seconds, Rosita walked away from him, and back to the counter to finish putting away the medical supplies.

It was then that she heard shouting from outside. She walked out of the infirmary slowly, but still wanting to know what was going on. Once she was outside she could see Rick opening that gates for Negan and the saviors.

She locked the door to the infirmary and tucked the key away into her pocket, fearing for the man inside.

She took a deep breath turning away from the building and walking towards the gate. Negan was walking through the gate, following Rick.

"You got anything interesting for us?" Negan was asking him.

"Not anything new" Rick told him. "We haven't had time to go out and look"

Negan grinned. "Don't worry about it Rick" he looked around Alexandria. "I already know what I want" He added in a dark tone.

Rosita swallowed nervously, fearing what that might be. It could be just the usual supplies, but the way he said it, made her think that it was something more.

"I want my prisoner back" he told Rick, who immediately looked confused but it was clear that he knew exactly what Negan was talking about. "So where is he?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Rosita noticed a group of saviors walking towards the infirmary. She mentally pleaded with them not to try to open the door. It was locked, but if it was, the saviors would think they were hiding something.

"Daryl's not here" Rick told Negan softly. "He's gone"

"Now I don't believe that shit" Negan told him with a cunning grin. "Now where is he, before Lucille gets to bash some brains in?" He held the bat up to Rick as if to threaten him.

"Ya ain't takin' 'im" A gruff voice growled behind Negan.

He turned around to see the man standing there. "And who might you be?" He asked.

"Daryl's brother" Merle growled back. "And ya ain't takin' 'im"

Negan's tongue scraped the bottom of his teeth as his grin widened. "Daryl's brother huh?" He turned back to Rick. "Well this is interesting."


End file.
